–President Ali announces, says region to be soon self-sufficient in production of corn, black eye, other legumes
THE Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders are inching closer to their food- security target of slashing the region’s massive food-import bill by 25 per cent by the year 2025.

Guyana’s President and current CARICOM Chairman, Dr Irfaan Ali, on Monday told a regional agriculture summit that the 15-member bloc has made significant progress through enhanced collaboration and increased food production.
“A recent review in February 2024 put our progress at close to 70 per cent of our objective since starting the initiative three years ago,” President Ali said.

By the end of 2026, it is expected that the region will be fully-sufficient in its production of corn, soya bean, and black eye peas and red beans.

According to Dr Ali, who also holds the responsibility for agriculture, agricultural diversification and food security in CARICOM, said “hundreds of US millions” will be saved through the local production of those crops.

“We will now turn our attention to address the issue of malnutrition and we have a clear plan in ending malnutrition by 2030,” President Ali said.

Vision 25 by 25 was officially implemented in 2021, laying out the groundwork for a long- term social and economic partnership among member states, the regional private sector (CARICOM private sector organisation-cpso), regional organisations, producer groups, development partners and civil society to collaborate and invest in initiatives to address the regions’ rising food-import bill and improve intra-regional trade.

Guyana has been steadily increasing its food production and expanding the cultivation of new crops such as corn, soybeans, and wheat to meet the demands of not only its domestic market, but also of the entire region.

Aside from this, efforts are being made to improve the region’s transport and logistics.
Just recently, President Ali announced that Guyana, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago have partnered to establish a ferry service that will transport cargo and passengers.

Following that, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago revealed that the Galleons Passage, a renowned vessel that regularly navigates the waters of the twin islands, will be utilised for transporting goods.

The food trade among CARICOM nations has also increased, with ongoing partnerships such as the black belly sheep project in Guyana, the expansion of shade houses in Barbados, and the further expansion of rice cultivation in Trinidad and Tobago.

At the recently concluded 46th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government here in Georgetown, Guyana, the CARICOM Chair mulled the implementation of a data analytics platform to enhance data collection in the agricultural sector.

“Data collection and data analytics is a major issue that will be resolved with the investment of a data analytics platform here in Guyana that will support the entire region.

We spoke about the use of innovation, hydroponics; we spoke about the involvement of young people and women to push production and to expand the pool of persons available for food production,” the CARICOM Chairman said during a closing press conference for the four-day summit.

“The conversation is around and the eco-system around food production and not just agriculture; agriculture is just a component,” Dr. Ali added.
He had also revealed that some leaders have outlined challenges, but efforts are underway to offer support as necessary.
“Some states have difficulties because of the environment in which they are operating, but we have come up with some specific initiatives that we can pursue in a very short time frame to assist those states in meeting the targets,” he explained.